Phoenix Downed
by aratcorien
Summary: FINISHED.Rated for graphic monster fight scene. When something unexpected happens, will Irvine be able to save Selphie? A Selvine about the seriousness of love in a dangerous environment, and the strength of love. ONE SHOT lighter at the end


Disclaimer: I do not own FFVIII... okay, I own a strategy guide, the 4 cds of the game, page music and playing cards, but I don't own the characters... yet...  
  
this is a one shot: Some Time after Ultimecia's Defeat. Selphie and Irvine.   
  
~-~-~-~- change in Point of View  
  
' ... ' thoughts  
  
" ... " speech  
  
Enjoy  
  
------------------------------  
  
Selphie kept panting as she ran. The battle had been brutal, and after using up all Phoenix Potions and Life spells on the death spells the Blue Dragon kept spewing, Irvine had given one last shot of his shotgun and covered Selphie and Zell's escape. She knew it was a bad idea for them to visit Shumi Villiage with no extra fuel, but Balamb Garden was currently visiting Trabia Garden to help with the repairs and take on some students so she couldn't see the harm. Besides, Irvine loved Shumi villiage, and she loved looking at the sculpture of Sir Laguna, Zell... well Zell was just bored.   
  
"SH*T!" Selphie looked back to find Irvine firing a couple more Ammo shots off at the Blue Dragon that had recovered and was quickly following the trio. She watched in horror as the backlash of the last shot caught Irvine off-guard and he tripped on a rock, scrambling to get distance from the enormous creature.  
  
"Irvy!"  
  
"Da*n! Ifrit, GO!" Zell yelled, summoning his junctioned GF, as he was too far away to deal a physical blow. Ifrit's fire blast singed Irvine's leather duster, as Selphie pulled him up and over, away from the dragon in time to cast a stop spell on it. It didn't work, and the dragon lashed back, catching Selphie off guard and ripping into her torso with its massive, scaley, poisonous claws.  
  
"Augh!" Selphie gasped, as the blood soaking her yellow jumper began casting a yellowish glow. It was her limit break. As her strength waned and the poison lowered her already battered condition, she gasped for air as her Limit Break fell on Rapture.  
  
~-~-~-~-~-  
  
Irvine blew a couple more shots into the dragon before booting it in an attempt to cover Selphie and Zell's escape. 'I have to get Selphie out!' His mind raced as they ran, but he could sense the creature gaining on the group, so while still running backwards, he loaded two more shots into his barrels and fired.  
  
"SH*T!" he yelled, as the backlash blew him over a rock, thrusting the air out of his lungs. On the ground, he could see the dragon preparing to lunge as he fumbled with his gun, still choking for breath. Suddenly, Ifrit appeared, and Selphie dragged him out of the way. 'This is why I love you' Irvine gasped as breath fell into his lungs, and he loaded his gun with more bullets, 'Da*n, two left!'. He saw Selphie jump in front, casting a spell, then all went awry. He saw the spell do nothing, and Selphie try to leap backwards, failing as a gigantic claw swung out and ripped at her flesh.  
  
"AHHH!" Irvine yelled, firing the last two bullets he had, as Zell came alongside and prepared to attack from the side. He didn't notice as Selphie began shining, as the blood poured, as the poison took hold, but realized something was either wrong or extremely lucky as the dragon sprouted angelic wings and was flown out of the battle. Victory being theirs, Irvine dropped his gun and turned to the petite brunette that had shared his days.  
  
"Sefie!?" he screamed, as she turned, stained with massive ammounts of blood.  
  
"Irvy? Help." Selphie answered weakly, "Oh, pretty" she said, pointing to the light at the end of the tunnel, falling, falling.   
  
"No!" Irvine cried, catching the slender body mid-fall, "Life! life, we've got to have Life! Zell!"  
  
Zell frantically searched his pockets, anything, did they have anything. Irvine covered some of the deep gashes with one hand, trying desperately to stop the blood flow.  
  
"Zell!!"  
  
"I... oh Hyne, I got nothin'!" the spunky blonde said, spotting a garden car not far away.  
  
"I'll go get help, stay with her!" Zell yelled, bolting towards the car. Irvine just held her, as realization began catching at his mind.  
  
"No... Sefie! Sefie, wake up, girl! C'mon, don't you do this to me, you're stronger than this! I love you too much to die!" he said, shaking her slightly. After she didn't move, he began to panic, random memories floated through his brain, the day they met as kids, their time at the orphanage, the years of nothing... nothing. Nothing! 'This can't be it, it can't be nothing, No, she has to live,'  
  
"SELPHIE!!!" he screamed, sinking his body down to meet the bloodstained girl. He didn't know why, but random memories floated in with Selphie's... a bird, the blood, the horrific scene playing over and over, the blood splattering the ground, red, blood, bird, rising, flames, rising, rising, RISING! A rush filled the space around Irvine, as his tears fell upwards and the space around them illuminated, the form of a great bird of fire rushing up from the blood soaked dust of the Trabian plateau.   
  
The great Phoenix had risen, and wrenched Selphie's prone body upwards, juxtaposing her form onto the bird's giant torso. Light blurred, and Irvine felt flattened, as he was flung backwards by the soaring strength of the life energy flowing through the frozen land.   
  
Above him, the great bird spoke through Selphie's animated mouth,  
  
"Irvine Kinneas, your love for Selphie stirred my heart, and I give her back to you by choice, she could have saved herself, but chose to save you, for this I give to her a second chance, and you as well. Farethewell, Irvine Kinneas," Selphie plummeted the 6 feet into Irvine's arms as the Guardian Force Phoenix swept further up and out into the sky beyond.  
  
Irvine's heart raced as he swept back Selphie's hair, and gazed into her stirring eyes.  
  
"Irvy...?" Selphie rasped, coughing slightly. Phoenix didn't cure fully, just gave a second chance at living.  
  
"Shh, Sefie, shh. You're gonna be awlright now, y'hear?" Irvine said in the thickest drawl Selphie had yet heard from his lips. His voice cracked, as he continued,  
  
"I thought I'd lost you. I thought you were gone. Selphie, I..." he was stopped by a delicate finger on his lips.  
  
"Irvy, I saw everything. I love you too much to die" as he heard Selphie speak, he shifted their weight so Selphie was more comfortably cruxed in his arms. Slowly, he bent down and kissed her cheek, while taking off his leather duster and draping it over her shivering form. He turned to hear Zell screech up with the Garden Car, it had extra fuel in the trunk after all and lunge out of the drivers seat to review the damage.  
  
"Woa! Selphie! You're alive! YES! Did ya see the bird? It was the biggest ever!"  
  
"Yes, Zell, we saw the bird" Irvine said, lifting Selphie up and into the backseat.  
  
----- Later back in Garden  
  
Irvine stood leaned agains one of the trees in the Quad. After the frantic ride back to the Garden, Irvine raced Selphie to Dr. Kadowaki, and collapsed over a small plastic chair. When he woke up, Dr. Kadowaki had told him to go clean himself up, and that Selphie would be fine, so he left for his dorm. After, he walked around the Garden, into the Quad and stood contemplating what had actually happened.  
  
'She died. Really truely died, and there was nothing I could do. I've never felt so helpless. If only I'd have... Maybe if I... I should have been prepared' his thoughts kept crashing the peaceful silence of the Quad as he rubbed his forehead, raising the cowboy hat he wore a little higher on his head.  
  
'She loves me. And I love her.' he thought, sliding down along the tree trunk into a seated position, his hat fell closer over his eyes, and he didn't care, all he could do was think.  
  
Unbeknowanced to him, Selphie had left the Infirmary and had cleaned herself up in her dorm. She was thinking about what had happened, the light, and Irvine, he looked so fragile, so worried, every syllable he screamed wrenched at her, willing her back into her body. But she couldn't. No matter how hard she tried, she was too weak. Then the Phoenix came, and she caught a glimpse into why the Phoenix had come. The Phoenix was junctioned to Irvine's memory temporarily, and she saw every memory they shared from Irvine's point of view. As she walked to the Quad, she thought on how it changed everything, she knew he would be there.  
  
Irvine could not get Selphie out of his head, the limp body folded into his arms, she should have been in his arms for another reason, not in the thralls of death, but of ecsacy. Before he could jostle himself in surprise of his revelation, tears began to flow, slowly and surely and he just let them fall.  
  
"I'm sorry, Selphie" he whispered, feeling the cool wetness of his tears on the edge of his shirt. Hearing a rustling beside him, he looked up, straight into Selphie's eyes. She didn't expect to see him cry, she didn't except to just kneel down and hug him, she didn't expect to start crying herself, but there she was, there they were, an amalgamation of arms, legs and bodies tangled together crying softly.   
  
It seemed like hours had passed, and they were exhausted. Selphie and Irvine had not moved since Selphie came. Finally, they shifted positions, as Selphie took off Irvine's hat, placed it aside and looked directly into his eyes. Tearstained and red, Irvine could find no words, she had sincerely scared him, it made him re-evaluate what he was fighting for, and why he was fighting at all.  
  
"Sefie..." Irvine began, as Selphie shushed him. He closed his eyes, completely broken by this thing they call love, as Selphie leaned closer and kissed his eyelids.  
  
"There, all better" she said, giving her best smile, although it was still weak. Irvine smirked, he loved her so much it hurt, but she was here, alive, for him. He lifted her torso and legs so that she was laying across his lap, her arms draped on his neck, head on his chest.  
  
"I love you. I love you, I love you, I love you" he whispered, gliding his nose over hers.  
  
Selphie smiled, "I know. Thanks, Irvy, for loving me" she giggled, as his bangs tickled her face, and blew at them. He quickly leaned in and kissed her already pursed lips, letting the shock drain away.  
  
"Hey, no fair." Selphie bantered, "Advantage-taker!" he had to laugh, they both looked ridiculous, sitting under a tree in the middle of the Quad. Not only were their bottom halves covered with dirt, but they were in public view of the rest of Garden.   
  
"Selphie, can I ask you something?" he asked, finally standing up.  
  
"What would that be?" Selphie answered, grabbing his hat and shoving it on her own head, as Irvine held a hand for her to rise. She took it, and being a little over-zealous, stumbled into his chest with a splat and "Mrrmph" of which Irvine only chuckled. Lifting her chin,   
  
"I'm up here."  
  
"Yeah, so you are"  
  
"Sefie, can we just... stay together? I don't want you to leave... again." he choked on the last word, as Selphie took the hat off her head and tip-toed to a height where she could plop it on his.  
  
"You don't think I'd leave now, do you?"  
  
"I was thinking... perhaps...well"  
  
"We could sleep together, tonight?"  
  
He was stunned, and could only nod affirmatively with his mouth partly open. She beat him to it.  
  
"I don't think I COULD sleep alone after today.. One condition though."  
  
"And what would that be?" Irvine drawled, feeling a bit like his normal self, with this arms draped around her tiny waist.  
  
"I get to keep your hat!" She shouted, jumping up and grabbing the cowboy hat off Irvine's head before bolting towards the dorms. He caught her in front of the Cafeteria, slinging his arms around her waist, lifted her up, sack style laughing at her feeble attempts to wriggle free.  
  
Back in Irvine's dorm room, Selphie sat on the bed wearing one of Irvine's shirts, as he had his pyjama bottoms on and was leaning against the wall just watching her brush her hair.  
  
"Allow me," he said lunging onto the bed, ushering a squeek from Selphie as he caught the brush she flung at him. He brushed her hair, kissing her neck every time he got close, and eventually, she yawned, cuddled into his muscular chest and they sank down into the covers and tangled their hands softly, lovingly, curled together.  
  
As together they shared a dream.  
  
~ La Fin ~ 


End file.
